Re: R12GS Trannies?

[Bob MacFarland <emoto1@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Don MacQueen wrote:

> Greets!
>
> I heard a (completely unsubstantiated) rumor that the new GS-es were 
> rife with outright transmission failures, at pretty low miles. Anyone 
> heard the same? Experience?  Evidence that this is a malicious rumor? 


Having had an R1200GS since April 17th, I have been hauting as many 
forums and such as I have been able to find and have been understandably 
interested in hearing about any failures so I could watch for any 
symptoms on my own bike.

My memory is not the greatest, but I don't recall reading about *any* 
transmission failures on bikes in consumer hands (I do recall the 
article you mentioned), but there have been a few cases of a seal on the 
transmission leaking that causes the tranny to be pulled to fix, but 
these seem to be taken care of under warranty. I have read about maybe 3 
or 4 of these. I would certainly have noticed if the forums were filled 
with tranny failure stories. There have been a handful of rear drive 
failures (at the wheel) all preceeded by noticable play in the rear 
wheel and (I think) all with only a few thousand miles on the bikes. 
Some have speculated that a batch of parts with bad hardening got into 
some bikes, but who really knows.

My own R1200GS just turned 12,000 miles on the way home from a trip to 
the country north of Montreal and has been trouble-free except for two 
windshield screws getting loose. I really love this bike!

- -- 
Bob
     Eventual Master of the Obvious
  R1200GS CB750F DoD EMOTO BMWMOA SOHC4
Proud walking jingle in the midnight sun

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